Tabloid Junkie

THE STORY BEHIND ' Tabloid Junkie'

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This is the funk-fueled sibling to "Scream." While "Scream" was a roar of anger, "Tabloid Junkie" is a frantic, paranoid lecture on media literacy. It is widely considered by critics and fans to be one of the best-produced tracks on the HIStory album, featuring a chorus that became a mantra for Michael’s defenders.

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Long before the term "Fake News" became part of the global vocabulary, Michael Jackson wrote the definition. "Tabloid Junkie" was born out of the absolute chaos of 1993 and 1994. During this period, the tabloids printed stories about Michael that ranged from the offensive (the molestation allegations) to the absurd (that he slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to live forever). Michael realized that the public was believing these headlines simply because they were printed. He wrote this song as a warning. The central message of the song is arguably the most important lesson he ever tried to teach his fans: "Just because you read it in a magazine, or see it on the TV screen, don't make it factual."

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For this track, Michael leaned heavily into the industrial funk sound of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The production is designed to sound like anxiety. It is cluttered, noisy, and mechanical.

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• The Intro: The song opens with a soundscape of a busy newsroom. You hear teletype machines chattering, cameras shuttering, and printing presses slamming. Over this, voices shout ridiculous headlines: "Michael Jackson sleeps in hyperbaric chamber!" "Michael Jackson creates shrine to Elizabeth Taylor!"

• The Beat: The rhythm track is relentless. It features heavy, distorted keyboard stabs and a complex drum pattern that mimics the rapid-fire delivery of a gossip columnist.

• The Vocals: Michael sings the verses in a rapid, staccato style, spitting the words out like bullets. He sounds breathless, mimicking the panic of being hunted by photographers.

 

Madonna & JFK The lyrics contain several specific jabs at the media culture of the 90s.

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• The "Bisexual" Line: In the second verse, Michael sings: "She's blonde and she's bisexual." For years, fans have speculated that this was a swipe at Madonna. At the time, Madonna was the queen of controversy and had made critical comments about Michael in the press. While Michael never confirmed it, the line is often viewed as him pointing out the hypocrisy of the media praising Madonna’s scandals while demonizing his.

• The JFK Reference: He also sings: "In the hood... frames are overlaid / JFK exposed." This references the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Michael was fascinated by JFK (referencing him in "D.S." and "Tabloid Junkie") and felt a kinship with the Kennedy family, viewing them as another American dynasty destroyed by public scrutiny.

 

One of the most powerful lyrics in the song is a twist on the old saying "the pen is mightier than the sword." Michael sings: "You say it's not a sword / But with your pen you torture men / You'd crucify the Lord." This imagery portrays the journalist not as an observer, but as an executioner. Michael truly believed that the press was trying to kill him, not physically, but spiritually and reputationally. He equates the "ink" of the tabloids with the blood of their victims.

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"Tabloid Junkie" is widely considered the greatest "lost hit" of the HIStory era. It was never released as a single. Many critics believe this was a strategic mistake by Sony. The song had a catchy, radio-friendly chorus and a beat that fit perfectly with the R&B trends of 1995. Because it wasn't a single, there is no music video for "Tabloid Junkie." Fans have often created their own montage videos using footage of paparazzi swarming Michael to fill the visual void.

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Despite not being a single, the song found a second life on stage. Decades later, during the rehearsals for the "This Is It" residency in 2009, Michael resurrected "Tabloid Junkie." He incorporated a snippet of the song as an intro to "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Even in his final days, Michael felt the message of the song was necessary. He wanted to remind the audience right at the start of the show to ignore the media lies they had heard for the past decade and focus on the music.

 

In the age of social media and misinformation, "Tabloid Junkie" has aged better than almost any other song on the album. Its warning about media manipulation is now relevant to everyone, not just celebrities. The phrase "Just because you read it in a magazine... don't make it factual" has become a timeless slogan for critical thinking. It stands as the definitive track about the Michael Jackson vs. The Media war.